Friday, 17 April 2009

We recently held a policy driven focus-group learning session in support of a Defra consultation on agricultural buffer strips. The aim of the session was oo provide Defra staff with expert and practical advice on the science of buffer strip design, performance (for diffuse substances e.g. nutrients, particles and PPP) and management.

The two-day training course is intended to familiarize university instructors with the teaching material provided in the Online Curriculum - Adaptive River Basin Management.

The course will focus on both content of the modules, as well as the use of the materials in designing new programmes or incorporating these into the teaching curricula of the instructors who participate in the course. In addition, participants will learn about approaches to and methods for teaching Adaptive Water Management.

Thursday, 16 April 2009

Prof Beddington (UK Government Chief Scientific Advisor) presented his take on the challenges we face nationally and globally at the Sustainable Development UK Conference,his presentation is now available.

" I will leave you with some key questions. Can nine billion people be fed? Can we cope with the demands in the future on water? Can we provide enough energy? Can we do it, all that, while mitigating and adapting to climate change? And can we do all that in 21 years time? That's when these things are going to start hitting in a really big way. We need to act now. We need investment in science and technology, and all the other ways of treating very seriously these major problems. 2030 is not very far away. "

Soil and Water Blog

Welcome. The objective of this blog is to provide you with a forum to enable the exchange of information and ideas on recent developments in science and policy of soil and water management in the UK, particularly the science of diffuse nutrient pollution from agriculture.